Would You Pay Double for Gas?

I would BUT- I do not believe that our small contribution to the world's oil supply cuts our gas price in half. In other words, I do not believe if we didn't drill in the gulf that it would reasonably lead to a doubling in price. I would assume that such an increase would be related
to shenanigans by the market manipulators...

I think that if I was 30 years younger and still driving I would buy me one of those hybird cars, They get like 50 miles per gallon...if you were careful and planned your stuff you could stretch that gallon out. My youngest son has a mega big car...I bet it takes at least a half of gallon to get out of the driveway, He is always filling up his tank.

Few things-

What made you say double? Why not just say triple or quadruple?

There are options/technologies already here that (if used) provide efficiency/reduced consumption to levels that would more than cancel out the amount of oil we put into the world market from drilling in the gulf.

Would You Pay Double for every Gallon of Gas?

Our love-hate relationship with Oil:
Fishermen mourn the destruction of their way of life and defend Big Oil in the same breath;
Environmentalists call for restoring the battered coastline, not for changing the national energy policy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/25/us/25voices.html

A total of 517,847 barrels of oil were dumped into the Gulf of Mexico from 1964 to 2009, federal records show:
washingtonpost.com

We're likely to continue to have spills in the Gulf as long as we continue to drill in the Gulf.

If we stop drilling in the Gulf, gas prices will go up. Gas prices in Europe are double what ours are.

Would you be willing to pay double for every gallon of gas you buy if there'd be no more drilling in the Gulf?

Would you be willing to pay 40% more at the grocery checkout isle, 10% more for the clothes you wear, 20% more for the drugs you take, 50% more for your plane tickets, and twice what you pay for a gallon of gas?

Your question is reasonable, but you have to ask the complete question.. the price of oil effects far more than the price of gasoline at the pump! Is making the gulf a drill free zone worth all the pain and suffering high gas prices would inflict on low income wage earners and families?

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

You're right about that.

My original question was meant to be rhetorical--an attempt to get at the issue of whether (& how much) we as a society would be willing to "sacrifice" to keep Our Gulf clean.

Shopper's points are well taken: if the price of gas goes up, many (most?) other prices go up.

Are we as a society willing to compromise our standard of living in favor of keeping our environment clean? If so, where do we draw the line?

Thx for clarifying the spirit of the thread. I'm back on board. So again- yes, I would pay increased prices I'm exchange for the guarantee of a cleaner gulf.

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

Geo, can you post some data showing the elimination of gulf drilling wouldn't impact gas prices in the states?

Thx for clarifying the spirit of the thread. I'm back on board. So again- yes, I would pay increased prices I'm exchange for the guarantee of a cleaner gulf.

Would you also be willing to force those higher prices on those less fortunate than you? People who's livelihoods are directly effected by higher prices at the pump, grocery store, and pharmacy? What's your solution for this?

The data on this thread holds no regard for the actual way gasoline is priced.

You are correct. Here is an article just a few days old that made my eyes cross trying to figure out what might go into oil pricing...I bet less than 1% of the population can accurately describe what goes into the pricing of a barrel of oil. Crude Oil Rises as Storm System Threatens to Disrupt Gulf of Mexico Output - Bloomberg

But I have to say, based on what happens to the price of gas and heating oil when hurricanes enter the gulf, I have a hard time believing that 'shutting everything down' would result in anything other than the price of goods and services rising uniformly to a miserable level. I try to imagine what would happen in our little SOWAL bubble...so many of our relatively low paid workers have to commute in to work and our tourism industry, which is our economic life blood, is fully dependent on regional discretionary income. It does not take much imagination to envision an economic train wreck, but hey, I have been wrong before and will be again, so who knows.

Maybe we could just all drive golf carts......

When prices were almost double a few summers ago, I changed the way I drive. When it went back down, I didn't go back to my old habits. I drive as little as necessary and I would pay twice, but I would also like all the special entitlements and subsidies pulled from the oil companies. Let them all do business on a level playing field and if Americans want to pay less, they will seriously look at alternatives and getting better mpg's out of their cars.

Maybe we could just all drive golf carts......

You are flirting with a red chiclet, bud...

Once again, everyone speaks of waking up tomorrow and no oil! The way this issue is presented changes the way people look at this issue- especially those who have never given a fig about the environment or a future beyond their own selfish needs- the over-simplification of the issue makes it easy for these types of people to get immediately defensive.

Most people I know who want to get away from oil dependency understand that it will be years until other sources of energy are readily available, affordable, and in place. Of course nothing can happen overnight, but the ramping up the funding, research, and production needs to happen now, so in 20 years, we are not so oil-dependent. Is that such a bad thing?

Geo, can you post some data showing the elimination of gulf drilling wouldn't impact gas prices in the states?



Would you also be willing to force those higher prices on those less fortunate than you? People who's livelihoods are directly effected by higher prices at the pump, grocery store, and pharmacy? What's your solution for this?

By the same token, how is it proven that your suppositions will become reality?

You are flirting with a red chiclet, bud...

So goes Life in the fast lane....

Ugabuga asked a hypothetical question- would we pay double?

Others jumped in and ran with that figure more literally as if the equation would be

no gulf drilling = 2 x price of gas

i only reminded folks that this number was not based on anything tangible. So I'm not sure why I am assigned homework but nonetheless- I'll at least do my fair share.

Here is a source that indicates that the amount of oil we get from the Gulf in a year is equal to approx. 8% of what we consume in a year.

PolitiFact | Hatch says '30 percent of our oil' comes from the Gulf

The numbers are based on 2009 and I presume consumption means only
gasoline used for autos. End disclaimers.

I'm no math or Econ wizard but if you cut the supply of something by 8% I do not believe this leads to a doubling in the price. That's point 1.

Point 2- truth is- the U.S. supply would not be cut by 8%. The US contribution to the oil being contributed to the world market would be cut. We don't get to keep the oil we produce for domestic use. We are an exporter of oil just like everyone else.

Point 3- it would be a cinch to cut consumption by greater than 8%.

I'm sure there are many variables left out here. But for what it is worth, I'm trying and I'm working around the fallacies we normally see.

Once again, everyone speaks of waking up tomorrow and no oil! The way this issue is presented changes the way people look at this issue- especially those who have never given a fig about the environment or a future beyond their own selfish needs- the over-simplification of the issue makes it easy for these types of people to get immediately defensive.

Most people I know who want to get away from oil dependency understand that it will be years until other sources of energy are readily available, affordable, and in place. Of course nothing can happen overnight, but the ramping up the funding, research, and production needs to happen now, so in 20 years, we are not so oil-dependent. Is that such a bad thing?

Yes, that's the way most of us view this, but you'll have to repeat those words each and every time you talk about this issue to avoid the ole strawman argument coming from the oil advocates.

It's comforting to know that research for energy alternatives has been going on as long as it has and has already made great strides. It helps when we each do our personal part as well.

I think that if I was 30 years younger and still driving I would buy me one of those hybird cars, They get like 50 miles per gallon...if you were careful and planned your stuff you could stretch that gallon out. My youngest son has a mega big car...I bet it takes at least a half of gallon to get out of the driveway, He is always filling up his tank.

Is it 2012 yet? Is the world coming to an end? Because - TA DA - I agree w/Edgy Grammy's post. OMG that's amazing.............:shock:

Point 3- it would be a cinch to cut consumption by greater than 8%.

This is the saddest part of the whole thing. The technology we have today would allow us to dramatically reduce our energy consumption which would ultimately also reduce our oil consumption.

Just improving building energy efficiency would be huge. Couple that with the conversion of big rig trucking to CNG and our oil consumption would go down significantly (without altering our lifestyles significantly.)

Economic feasibility is really the only thing standing in the way.

At the very end of the movie FUEL they were showing how to rebuild the oil barrel. What's the #1 thing we can do? CLEAN UP OUR ACT WHEN IT COMES TO WASTE! We could easily conserve enough to make the difference. We just waste way too much fuel, energy, materials, etc.... Even if we used no new technologies we could achieve our goal by all committing to changing our habits.

Interesting question!

Of course we'd pay double. Not overnight, but slowly and surely we will. I already pay double relative to when it was under a buck fiddy.

Let me ask a few more....

Could you imagine paying $100/month for a mobile phone? How about paying $100/month for tv and $50/month for internets? $12/month for radio? $400 for a gaming console? $2k for a tv? $1k for a computer or three? ipod, ipad, idontknow?

Now that you've had some or all of them, can you imagine NOT paying for these?

It's amazing how all these little buggers infiltrate our lives. Tack on car insurance, health insurance, home insurance, insurance insurance, double/triple taxation and you better be driving that depreciating liability to earn those.


"That....Mr. Anderson, is the sound of inevitability."

resistance is futile.

Could you imagine paying $100/month for a mobile phone? How about paying $100/month for tv and $50/month for internets? $12/month for radio? $400 for a gaming console? $2k for a tv? $1k for a computer or three? ipod, ipad, idontknow?

The problem is the people that would be affected the most by rising gas prices, do not own any of this.

You do know there are many people like that, don't you or maybe you don't.

Sometimes I wonder on this forum if people do realize how many people have so much less than they do.

And many of them commute to 30-A to provide that life so many others enjoy.

Gidget and Jenny said it best. You can't expect changes over night. No one wants oil on the beaches but alternative ways to provide energy and a decrease in demand have to be in place first. An even worse nightmare would be for the US to be totally dependent on oil for the Middle East so we will have to be less dependent to make sure that does not happen.

In the meantime safety and responsible drilling have to be the focus.